FRANKLIN
Playoff positioning is on the line this week for both Isle of Wight and Southampton Academies, while Windsor, Southampton and Franklin are looking for TriRivers District victories.

Friday night’s rivalry game between Franklin High School and Sussex Central High School will be the WLQM Game of the Week. It will be on air on Real Country 101.7 starting at 6:40 p.m. live from Armory Field.

BRONCOS

The Broncos (1-5) are looking to play a tough matchup against the Tigers (5-1) in a VHSL Conference 41 football match with their home crowd behind them. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

So far this season, Sussex is scoring 32.3 points each contest, while only giving up 8.5. The Tigers have shut out three teams this season, including Windsor. On the other side of the ball, the Broncos are scoring 31 points per game, while giving up 38.

Head Coach Darren Parker said that for this game you can throw all of that out the door, including the records.

“It’s a rivalry game,” he said. “It is going to be physical. We are mentally preparing our kids, and I’m sure Coach Jefferson is mentally preparing his kids.

Parker said they have had a very good week of practice getting ready for this contest.

“The most physical team. The most disciplined team,” he said. “That’s who is going to come out on top. Always, God is great.”

DUKES

The Windsor Dukes look to play fellow 2A non-conference foe Greensville High School in a TriRivers District match at home at 7 p.m.

Windsor (2-4) is on a three game losing skid, while the Eagles (1-5) are on a five game losing streak.

“We’re prepared for the football game and looking to get the win,” Head Coach Charles Parrish said. “We’ve had a good week of practice, and the kids have been working hard and getting better.”

Parrish said the Eagles have athletes, including a solid running back and a mobile quarterback that they have to prepare for, but he said they’d have a game plan.

“We’ve got to stop them — they can run the ball well,” he said. “But we’re looking to come out and play well. We want to get better every week.”

INDIANS

The Southampton Indians (1-5) will look to play spoiler again for a homecoming game, this time in Dendron at 7 p.m. against undefeated Surry High School in a VHSL out of conference TriRivers District game.

Head Coach Willie Gillus said for the third week in a row that they are once again up against the fastest team they have faced so far this season.

“Not only can they run the ball well, but they can throw it too,” he said. “On defense, they fly around the ball.”

Gillus said they’ll have to just match that speed with physicality.

“We are going to have to be extremely physical on offense and defense,” he said. “The offensive and defensive lines are going to step it up and deal with this senior-laden Surry team.”

CHARGERS

Isle of Wight Academy (4-3) will travel to face Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot (3-4) in Powhatan for a conference match up with a 7 p.m. kickoff. It could be the deciding game for the VISAA Virginia Commonwealth Conference runner up, with Fuqua School ahead of both of them for first.

Looking toward the Division IV postseason with only two games left including this one, the Chargers sit in third place and could gain some ground on second-place Roanoke Catholic with a win, with the Celtics at home facing first-place Fuqua.

“It is a very important game,” said Head Coach Dale Chapman. “If we beat them, we will be the conference runners-up. But it’s a two-fold deal. Blessed Sacrament has a few wins, and that will help us as far as moving up in the polls, and maybe moving up another spot.”

Chapman said his players know that it’s an important game.

“Our guys understand the significance, and I’m sure Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot does as well,” he said. “I’m sure it is going to be a real battle up there.”

RAIDERS

The Southampton Academy Raiders (6-1) will be on the road to face the Rocky Mount Academy Eagles (7-0), a game that’s been on their mind for a while, as it’s a rematch of last year’s NCISAA 8-Man Colonial Carolina Championship Game. Last year, the Eagles came out on top.

“Oh yeah, we’re fired up,” Head Coach Dale Marks said. “Our kids are really looking forward to this one.”

Marks said it’s going to be a tough match, as they have a deceptive running game.

“They use a lot of deception with fakes and counters, and they also run an 8-man version of the jet sweep,” he said. “They have two very good running backs and a big kid who is also deceptively fast at full back.

“They will also throw the ball, and I think they are better there than they were last year.”

Marks said it is going to be a good test for the Raiders. SA is scoring 52.3 and giving up 40 per game. RMA is scoring 54.6 and giving up 16.

“We will have to play well to get the win,” he said. “Hopefully, we will be able to do some things to take advantage of our opportunities on offense. And on defense, we’ve got to bring the pressure or they will have guys running free in the backfield.”

Kickoff is at 7:30 at Rocky Mount Academy.